Battle of Algiers

The Battle of Algiers was the main battle of the Algerian War, lasting from 30 September 1956 to September 1957. After Ali La Pointe began a guerrilla war in the city (by January 1957 an average of 4.2 attacks occurred every day), Colonel Jacques Massu enforced martial law and the French Army cracked down on the FLN terrorists, and decapitated the FLN with a crushing victory. However, in 1960 violent outbreaks occurred again and in 1962 France was forced to leave Algeria.

Battle
The failure of the French government to grant Algerians independence led nationalists to form the guerrilla Front Liberation de Nationale (FLN) in 1954. At first the FLN's 800 fighters were heavily outnumbered by the 20,000-strong French army and concentrated on isolated terrorist attacks in rural areas. These met with a violent response from the Frenchy, but helped the FLN to increase its strength and unite the Algerian Arabs and Berbers behind it. In 1956 the FLN switched its campaign to Algiers, hoping that its many streets and alleys afforded better protection than open countryside. On September 30 the FLN planted bombs at three sites, including the offices of Air France. The FLN then launched a campaign that saw more than 8,000 bombings and shootings a month, including the assassination of the mayor of Algiers in broad daylight in December and a general strike in 1957. As the violence escalated, General Massu, commander of the French 10th Parachute Division, acquired police powers in early 1957. These he used with savage effect, torturing FLN suspects to acquire information and kidnapping and killing others to intimidate the population. By September Massu had shattered the FLN in Algiers. Despite this success, French army plots against their own government and international pressure forced the French to grant Algerian independence in July 1962.